UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #20

                                          “Sandplay”  (Acrylic) -  90x120cm  

ABOUT THIS PAINTING:

”Sandplay” is a painting about the beach, surf, sun and fun.  It was created during a time that I was land bound and far away from the sea.  I have for most of my life lived by the sea having grown up in Surfers Paradise, I now reside on the Sunshine Coast.   But for 3 years I spent time in Louisville, Kentucky when I was studying for my Masters Degree in Expressive Art Therapies.  Louisville is situated in the mid-west of North America. It was there that I painted “Sandplay”

One of a number of therapeutic techniques used in psychotherapy is a therapy called Sandplay Therapy.  It utilizes a tray of sand and an array of symbolic objects.  During therapy the client creates a scenario within the sand tray and then discusses it with the therapist.  It is very successfully used with children but adult populations also benefit from this therapeutic technique.  Sandplay Therapy was included as part of my training as an Expressive Art Therapist.

Both of the above personal experiences have influenced this painting.  While representing the beach with all its light heartedness, the elements associated with Sandplay Therapy are also seen within the painting as obscure (symbolic) objects in the sand.

Artistic techniques used in the painting:

The painting has my characteristic flat planes of colour and deliberate lack of perspective.  However a sense of depth is achieved by the placement of the red/brown line upper centre just inside the bands of green.  The painting captures the feeling of being on a beach with the sea breaking and the top of the painting representing the horizon.  If you have spent time on the beach like I have, you will definitely relate to this sense of space and expansiveness which is characteristic of a beach scene.

The colours used are reminiscent of a beach (particularly in this region of Australia) where the sand is a golden yellow.  The brightness of the colours depict light and sunshine.  The objects scattered throughout the scene are up to you, the viewer, to imagine.  The clear sharp light of the Australian beach casts shadows that call for bright unapologetic colours.  Have you experienced this?   Can you relate to this?